The sad truth is that almost half of interns in the United States aren’t paid by their (temporary) employer, and you shouldn’t be surprised these interns – many of whom are suffering from student debts – will turn elsewhere that even pays them a modicum. Some interns have even taken their employers to court for various employment violations.

Paying interns may pay off in the long run – you end up attracting better candidates, and they are also more likely to decide to stay on as full-time employees if you so choose to convert them after their stint. Here’s an infographic from online intern matching platform InternMatch with some data surrounding the debate on whether to pay interns:

Daniel Goh is the founder and chief editor of Young | Upstarts, as well as an F&B entrepreneur. Daniel has a background in public relations, and is interested in issues in entrepreneurship, small business, marketing, public relations and the online space. He can be reached at daniel [at] youngupstarts [dot] com.